Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Stock Price Up 1.8% Following Analyst Upgrade

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) traded up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $78.00 to $84.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Coca-Cola traded as high as $72.68 and last traded at $72.95. 5,371,652 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 15,326,645 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.68.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on KO. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Coca-Cola from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Coca-Cola from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Coca-Cola in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Coca-Cola from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.59.

Insider Transactions at Coca-Cola

In other news, CEO James Quincey sold 145,435 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.01, for a total transaction of $10,327,339.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 342,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,324,191.46. The trade was a 29.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Henrique Braun sold 25,277 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.47, for a total value of $1,806,547.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 52,466 shares in the company, valued at $3,749,745.02. This trade represents a 32.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 313,423 shares of company stock valued at $22,263,071. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Berkshire Bank purchased a new position in Coca-Cola in the first quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Chicago Capital LLC raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 76,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,515,000 after acquiring an additional 2,499 shares in the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Coca-Cola by 30.4% in the first quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 33,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,393,000 after acquiring an additional 7,793 shares during the last quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Coca-Cola by 1.5% in the first quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $884,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inscription Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coca-Cola during the first quarter worth about $3,526,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.26% of the company’s stock.

Coca-Cola Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $314.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $70.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.41.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 45.37% and a net margin of 22.59%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio is 82.59%.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.